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Sunday, November 30, 2014

Pope seeks unity with Orthodox Christians on last day of Turkey visit

Pope Francis wrapped up his three-day visit to Turkey on Sunday with a
liturgy alongside the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox
Christians and a meeting with young refugees who have fled Syria, Iraq
and other conflict zones.

Hypnotic chants echoed in the Orthodox
Church of St. George as Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I greeted
Francis for the liturgy marking an important feast day for the Orthodox
Church. The two men are to issue a joint declaration afterward.

The
Catholic and Orthodox churches split in 1054 over differences on the
primacy of the papacy, and there was a time when patriarchs had to kiss
popes' feet. At the end of a joint prayer service Saturday evening,
Francis bowed to Bartholomew and asked for his blessing "for me and the
Church of Rome," a remarkable display of papal deference to an Orthodox
patriarch that underscored Francis' hope to end the schism.

Later
Sunday, Francis was to meet with a few dozen young refugees being cared
for by the Salesian religious order. The Vatican had downplayed the
meeting, perhaps because of organizational problems, or to not to
distract from Francis' ecumenical activities which were the main reason
for the visit.

But just before the trip began, the Vatican revealed that he would indeed deliver a speech to the youths.

The
absence of a dedicated visit had raised eyebrows given that refugees
are a primary concern for Francis, and he met with Syrian and Iraqi
refugees during his Jordan visit in May.

Turkey is currently
hosting some 1.6 million refugees who were forced to flee their homes by
the Islamic State group, which is grabbing up chunks of territory in
neighboring Syria and Iraq.